Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong, the only defendant in the case related to the murder of a man holding a Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) passport with the name of Kim Chol, might be released in the first week of May, possibly May 8, according to her lawyers.

Doan Thi Huong walks among Malaysian police 

On April 1, the Shah Alam High Court in Selangor state of Malaysia sentenced Huong to three years and four months in prison on the charge of causing injuries using dangerous means, instead of murder.  

Lawyer Salim Bashir said after the trial that Huong was granted a remission of one third of her jail term over good behavior. 

Huong’s lawyers also praised the collaboration from Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Public Security and its Embassy in Malaysia in tackling the case.

Meanwhile, a representative from the Vietnam Bar Federation said the woman was a “victim” and “was deceived” in the case, noting that the federation has actively worked with the Malaysian side in this direction.

Doan Van Thanh, Huong’s father, said both he and his daughter are delighted by the court’s verdict.

Vietnam’s Ambassador to Malaysia Le Quy Quynh affirmed that like the Indonesian suspect, Siti Aisyah who was released on March 11 this year after the Malaysian court dropped the murder charge against her, Huong is also a “victim” in the case.

Huong and Siti Aisyah were initially accused of poisoning the DPRK citizen travelling under passport name of Kim Chol with liquid VX, a banned chemical weapon, at Kuala Lumpur airport in February 2017.-VNA